LIFE ABOUT OUR HOMES IN FALL 83 



a spiral. Some orb weavers construct nets which differ 

 somewhat from the one just described. Have you ever seen 

 an insect fly against the spider's net ? When it touches one 

 of the turns of the sticky line, the viscid thread at once 

 adheres to it. As soon as the insect feels this thread, it 

 begins to struggle in order to free itself; the elastic line 

 stretches and the insect becomes entangled in other turns 

 of it. If the sticky line were not elastic, most insects would 

 simply break the turn or turns they happened to strike, and 

 escape. Teacher and pupils should touch the threads of a 

 web and observe the difference between the thick, support- 

 ing lines, and the thin, spiral catch-line. 



How a spider seizes and eats its prey. Some of the orb- 

 weaving spiders live in their nets, hanging head downwards ; 

 others have a hiding-place near one corner of the net. They 

 keep hold of some of the lines leading from the net, and as 

 soon as the jar caused by an entrapped insect is thus tele- 

 graphed to them, they rush out from their retreat and seize 

 their prey. Sometimes, when the insect is small, they begin 

 at once to suck the blood and moisture out of it; larger 

 insects are often completely wrapped in threads before the 

 spider begins its meals. 



Eggs and young. In fall the orb weavers lay a large 

 number of eggs, which they cover with soft silk, and after 

 hiding the cocoon in a protected place, they watch it until 

 they die, which they do when cold weather sets in. The 

 eggs hatch in the following spring. For a short time, the 

 little spiders remain together in their nest, then they sepa- 

 rate, and each spins its own little web. 



Other well-known spiders are the Funnel-web weavers, 

 the Cobweb weavers, and the Jumping spiders. The webs 

 of the first can be seen on the grass in large numbers, before 

 the dew has disappeared. Every housewife wages war with 

 broom and brush against the cobweb weavers. You can 



